Planning for a secure retirement requires understanding how savings, investment growth, taxes, and withdrawal strategies work together over decades. Our retirement calculators use actuarially grounded assumptions and current IRS rules to help you model realistic scenarios.
A common target is 15% of gross income (including employer match) throughout your career. Fidelity's rule of thumb: have 1× salary saved by 30, 3× by 40, 6× by 50, 8× by 60, and 10× by retirement.
Tax-deferred accounts (traditional 401k, IRA) reduce taxes now but withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. Tax-free accounts (Roth 401k, Roth IRA) use after-tax contributions, then provide tax-free growth and withdrawals.
Each year you delay from 62 to 70, your benefit increases by roughly 7–8%. The break-even age is typically around 80–82. Those in good health who can afford to wait generally maximize lifetime benefits by delaying to at least full retirement age or longer.
Experiencing large losses early in retirement permanently damages a portfolio more than the same losses later—because you sell shares when prices are low to fund living expenses. Holding 1–2 years of cash can mitigate this risk.
Traditional accounts benefit those who expect to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement. Roth accounts benefit those expecting higher future taxes, those early in their career, and those wanting tax-free income in retirement.